[Patents] Re: Technical effect

[Steve Probert steve.probert@patent.gov.uk]

>Unisys claim to have patents in Europe (including the UK) for the LZW
>algorithm.  I'm not sure how this has a technical effect, or qualifies
>as 'software not as such', if IBM's homophone checker did not.

>How is the criterion of technical effect applied in practice?

Data compression is a technical problem.  Eg. How do you store large amounts 
of program/data on a disk that does not have sufficient capacity?  How do you 
transmit a video image along a path that doesn't have sufficient bandwidth?   
An invention which addresses technical problems like these is likely to be 
patentable (provided it is novel and not obvious etc.).  
On the other hand, IBM homophone checker looks at words two sea weather they 
are spelt correctly.  Most of you reading this reply just did that when you 
read my last sentence.  What was the technical problem?  Where was the 
technical effect?  In the UK such an invention would probably be excluded 
from patentability as a method for performing a mental act, as well as a 
program for a computer.

Steve Probert